


you attack my heart

by painttheworldinpastels



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Amusement Park, Fluff, I would like to thank Chuu's Heart Attack for insipiring me to finish this, M/M, Nohyuck, there are elephant plushies and a cute puppy involved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 21:29:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18837148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painttheworldinpastels/pseuds/painttheworldinpastels
Summary: Jeno wonders if taking Donghyuck to the amusement park isn't as good an idea as he'd hoped, considering that all of Hyuck's attention is now directed to the stupid stuffed elephants in the rigged claw machines instead of on him.





	you attack my heart

It has been approximately thirty minutes since Jeno had left Donghyuck in front of the assortment of claw machines at the end of the park - a lonely thirty minutes of Jeno wandering around without Hyuck because he was insistent on winning one of those pastel plush elephants that Jeno had always thought looked weird. After ten minutes of Hyuck failing to get one, Jeno had gotten hungry and walked off, expecting Hyuck to follow him. Hyuck didn't, but Jeno was too famished to be too sad about it. After all, they had just gotten off the rollercoaster and Jeno needs to regain the breakfast he'd lost while on the ride.

When Jeno gets back to the claw machines with a some food for Donghyuck, he's not surprised to see Donghyuck still in front of the crane, prizeless and frowning deeply. Jeno smiles softly. Hyuck's never been very good with games.

"I can see you laughing at me." Donghyuck's voice is annoyed, but his gaze doesn't leave the machine. Hyuck's also never been one to accept defeat so easily.

"I have something for you."

"If it's not a cute elephant plushie then I don't want it."

Jeno rolls his eyes and waves the hotdog sandwich in front of Donghyuck's face, but he quickly takes it out of Donghyuck's line of vision when he sees Hyuck prepare to smack it away. "C'mon Hyuckie, we can have dessert after you eat."

Donghyuck snorted. "I'm not doing anything else until I get one of these," Donghyuck grumbles. A sea of different colored toys is spread out before them, the assortment of stuffed elephants staring back almost mockingly. There's a pyramid of the toys in one corner of the machine, piled in a way that would make it very difficult to grab one unless you capture the one on the very top. Jeno sees the hopelessness of the situation and prepares to drag Donghyuck away from the machine when Donghyuck forcefully presses down on the button, making the claw come down and latch onto a prize - an orange colored elephant with a trunk that's bit shorter than the other plushies' and one ear bigger than the other. It doesn't look very nice but Hyuck's eyes turn frantic as he shakes the joystick violently and channels all of his focus on the crane machine, rattling off...prayers? Jeno couldn't make out what Hyuck was saying but it was something along the lines of "I swear to god" and "please just one I beg".

The claw's grip isn't very good and the plush elephant is precariously perched on its fingers. As the claw moves slowly towards the dropbox, Jeno becomes absorbed in the game as well because _finally_ they can leave-

And the stuffed toy falls off the claw, tumbling down the machine and back into the pile with its stuffed siblings. Donghyuck's lets out an angry huff and steps back, glaring at the machine.

At this point Jeno is scared that Hyuck might just start shaking the machine in an attempt to have one of the plushies fall into the prize hole (and while it sounds like a plausible way to get a toy, Jeno highly doubts that that's legal and he doesn't want to be kicked out and banned), so he tugs on Donghyuck's sleeve. "Hyuck, come on, I saw a really big Dumbo plushie over there by the shooting game," Jeno points towards the game stalls. "Remember how good your aim is? Dumbo's really fluffy and suitable for cuddles too, you'll like it even more than those small things."

"But I want one of these," Donghyuck whines, staring desperately at a (admittedly cute) sky blue elephant, unwilling to let it go.

"I'll buy you one," Jeno says offhandedly as he hands Donghyuck the soda he'd gotten for him earlier. It's not as cold as it was when he bought it but Donghyuck takes it nonetheless and drinks it all in one go.

Hyuck looks like he's already conceded to the rigged (it's rigged, it _has_ to be rigged, these things always are) crane machine, his eyes downcast and his expression dejected. And though Jeno really, really, _really_ wants to move on to other games and rides, Hyuck looks so crestfallen that it actually makes Jeno kind of sad.

And one should never be sad here, at a place that's supposed to cheer people up and enable them have fun.

Jeno sighs loudly before sidestepping Donghyuck to get to the claw machine. "Alright, fine, let me try it."

Donghyuck moves to Jeno's side and he sees the sparkle of hope in Hyuck's eyes. Jeno doesn't want that sparkle to die, so prays that the "be the crane" advice from Spongebob isn't _pure_ bullcrap.

 

"You got one!" Donghyuck hollers in Jeno's ear after two failed attempts. Hyuck laughs joyfully as the sky blue plushie Donghyuck specifically wanted appears in the prize box, and though Jeno's ear is in pain from where Donghyuck had yelled into it it's also nice to hear the happiness radiating in Hyuck's voice.

Jeno hands the plushie to Donghyuck with an unimpressed face (honestly, the store-bought plushies are much better looking) and Hyuck hugs Jeno tightly. "Thank you Jen, I'll take care of it well!" Donghyuck says as they _finally_ start walking away from the claw machines, holding the elephant by the trunk and swinging it forcefully back and forth. That's not exactly what Jeno had in mind when Hyuck said he'd "take care of it well" but Hyuck looks so, so adorable, looking like a little kid while skipping alongside him, so he lets it slide. _As long as Hyuck doesn't make him play for another one if it breaks._

They stay the entire day, going on countless rides and playing a couple more games. They'd passed by the stall with the giant Dumbo stuffed toy and Jeno pointed it out to Donghyuck only to have Hyuck rush him away because "Haneul will be jealous".

The stuffed elephant, now named Haneul, is tucked to Donghyuck's side with one arm while Hyuck nibbles on cotton candy with the other arm. Haneul's beady eyes bore into Jeno, and he kind of wants to throw it away so Hyuck can use the hand he's holding it with to hold Jeno's hand instead.

"Thanks for taking me here instead of the others," Donghyuck says as he hugs the stuffed toy close to his chest, wielding his nearly finished stick of cotton candy like a wand. They're just walking around the park now, the sky splashed with pinks and oranges but it remains the same shade of pastel blue as stupid stuffed Haneul for the most part.

"I'd always pick you over anyone," Jeno says. Donghyuck snorts in disbelief and flicks the stick of cotton candy dangerously close to Jeno's hair. He gently nudges Hyuck's arm away and asks him, "Why were you so insistent on getting an elephant, anyway?"

Hyuck shrugs, shoving what remains of his cotton candy stick in front of Jeno. Jeno bites it all off messily, the floss getting all over his mouth. Donghyuck laughs as he wipes the remnants of the cotton candy away from the corner of Jeno's lips. It's an intimate gesture, but it doesn't feel weird. It feels familiar in a way, like they were always meant to take care of each other. Jeno likes it.

"I don't know, I just really like elephants? They're big and strong and super cute both in plushie or non-plushie form. And I like having stuffed toys on my bed, they make it a little less lonely."

"You're lonely?"

"No? Well, not really? I dunno, I just like having them there, I guess."

Jeno nods and looks back to the direction of the Dumbo plushie. It's sitting on the bottom shelf, too heavy to be on the top one. Jeno might come back for it sometime.

It's around dusk when they decide to leave. They sky's turned cerulean and the stars are out, twinkling softly above them. A crescent moon is glowing in the middle of the sky, the air is turning chilly, and the only sounds Jeno hears are the occasional chirping of crickets and Donghyuck's warm laughter. It's peaceful, and Jeno doesn't want anything to ruin this moment.

But of course something does.

Jeno hears a screech of absolute despair and Donghyuck falls into his side, both of his hands wrapping around Jeno's arm and tugging harshly, dragging Jeno downwards with him. They fall on the gravel in the heap and Jeno immediately checks to see if Donghyuck is okay but is greeted by a high-pitched whine. Jeno looks forward and sees why.

A puppy is staring up at them with wide eyes, cute and small and fluffy and lovable. The pup's ears perk up and it runs over towards them as Donghyuck opens his arms wide for the puppy to jump into. Hyuck shifts into a better position to cuddle the puppy, still sitting on the ground. Jeno doesn't get up either and just watches Donghyuck sound like he's being strangled as he coos over the dog.

"Helloooo my sweet cutiepie, Jeno, say hi!" Jeno gives it a little wave and Donghyuck lets out a squeal. "Look how adorable, Jen, oh my god, it's so fluffy I'm gonna DIE."

A moment later, as Hyuck is busy stroking the puppy's fur and the pup is nuzzling into Hyuck's hand, a young girl comes running towards them, just like the puppy had been a few minutes ago. Jeno inspects the dog closely and sees a collar around the puppy's neck, hidden by its bushy fur.

"Hello misters, I'm sorry, did Poofy bother you too much? Goodness, Poofy, you knocked TWO people down?!"

Donghyuck lets out a soft chuckle and stands up, jiggling Poofy and depositing the puppy into the girl's waiting arms. "No, I fell down and Poofy came to check up on me, isn't that right, Poofy?" Donghyuck runs his fingers through the puppy's fur one last time before they say goodbye to both the girl and the puppy, watching them amble in the direction opposite the one they were taking.

Jeno bumps Donghyuck's shoulder lightly. "You started wailing like a whale - no, wait, you started _whale-ing_ ," (Donghyuck shoves him for being lame) "because you saw a cute dog?"

"Shut up," Donghyuck walks faster to escape Jeno's teasing but Jeno catches up to him. When he does Donghyuck asks him, "Do you think I should get a puppy?"

"You should really be asking _yourself_ that, but if a dog makes you smile that brightly then by all means, go for it."

"Oh? You think I smile brightly?"

Jeno's smile turns shy, but he doesn't deny it. "You're always shining bright, Hyuckie."

Donghyuck presses his lips together, embarrassed because of the sudden compliment. All he says in response is a soft "loser", and Jeno feels accomplished. At least Hyuck didn't call him a cheesy loser this time.

"Anyway," Hyuck's tone is vibrant as he turns to Jeno, "wanna go with me to an adoption center? I'll have to ask my parents if they'd let me get one but worst case scenario and they disagree, at least I'll have cute puppies to distract me."

"And leave you heartbroken when it's time to go home?"

Hyuck shrugs. "Not really, since I have cute cats to come home to anyway."

Jeno's eyes widen. "Cats? What cats? You have a cat? Cats, as in plural? Where?"

Donghyuck bumps shoulders with him, they way Jeno did earlier. "You have cute cats, silly. I can always play with them to heal my petless heart."

"Bongsik doesn't like you."

"Seol and Nal do, though."

"Yes, but don't you care about Bongsik's feelings?"

"Bongsik can suck it." Donghyuck sticks his nose in the air and walks faster, swinging Haneul in circles by the trunk. Jeno briefly considers asking Hyuck to take better care of the stuffed animal but Haneul's already taken up Hyuck's attention for more than half of the day; it deserves to suffer for a while. And no, it's not jealousy speaking, why would he be jealous over a toy?

He does feel bad for Haneul just for a moment, but he soon regains his senses. _Toys don't have feelings_ , Jeno thinks to himself again and again, enough times to get him to believe it. _Toy Story's just a fictional movie. Haneul can't hurt you._

"Anyway," Jeno says to distract himself from his thoughts, "you called my house your home, you know. What makes you think you're even welcome there?" Jeno teases.

"Well, for one, your parents love me."

"Bongsik doesn't."

Donghyuck looks exasperated, but Jeno thinks he looks adorable like that, like a disgruntled puppy. Jeno almost pats his head.

"It's two against one, Jen. Seol and Nal over one mean Bongsik. And besides, Bongsik's already scratched me. What else is she gonna do, shred my clothes?"

Jeno's mouth curves downwards in distaste. He doesn't like it when Bongsik gets physical, and he doesn't like it when Donghyuck gets hurt. Donghyuck notices that it's a touchy subject and blabbers about other things, his eyes reflecting the stars. Jeno gets lost in them, a dumb smile on his face as he listens to Donghyuck go on about Mark's ugly new hairstyle that Hyuck's trying to get rid of.

When a lull in the conversation occurs, Jeno speaks up. "Bongsik doesn't really hate you, Hyuck. She's just a bit shy around people, but she looks for your shoes after you leave and then she meows sadly when she can't find them."

Donghyuck chuckles. "Nice to know that she scratches me out of love. Next time I visit I'll try to cuddle her."

"Please don't."

"Bongsik and I are gonna get alonnnnggg and we're gonna be best frieeendssss because we both loooooove Jenoooooo~" Donghyuck sing-songs loudly, and Jeno laughs next to him. They're right in front of Donghyuck's house now, and they can see the light on in the living room. It's not that late yet, just in time for dinner. Jeno would have joined them if his mother didn't already have a warm bowl of bibimbap waiting for him at home.

"I think Bongsik loves me more though?"

"Impossible," Donghyuck declares, shooting him a smile made of sunshine. His smile illuminates the sidewalk they're on, the length of the road, and the entire block, all the way to Jeno's house at the farthest corner of it. Hyuck's smile gleams brighter than the streetlamps, more brilliant than all the stars in the sky. "I love you more than anyone or any pet, Jeno."

Jeno grins widely, and though he knows Hyuck means that he loves him in a platonic way, he lets out a confession, hoping that the joking atmosphere disguises it into something light, something like a passing comment, even though Jeno means it with his whole heart. "I love you the most, Hyuckie."

 

(The moment is ruined when Hyuck says, "Like in Tangled?"

"Huh?"

"You know how Rapunzel and Mother Grinckle or whatever her name was say I love you to each other and turn it into a competition? Mother Gremlin will say 'I love you' and then Rapunzel says 'I love you more' and then whatsherface says 'I love you most'-"

Jeno shakes his head slightly. "Goodnight, Hyuckie," he says as he presses a short kiss to the crown of Hyuck's head and gently pushes him towards his front door. Jeno waves and turns away as soon as Donghyuck opens it and disappears inside.

He doesn't see the tips of Hyuck's ears turn bright red and the rosy blush on Hyuck's cheeks.)

**Author's Note:**

> I've been meaning to write this for a while now and like most of my other stuff this was supposed to be a drabble only 🤠 Was working on other things and then my brain was like, "yes, what a wonderful time to procrastinate by working on a fic you genuinely thought would rot in your wips"
> 
> Disclaimer: I am not sure whether Bongsik is a male or female cat so I used the pronoun "she", please don't quote me on that
> 
> Also uhm terribly sorry for the plushie's name (Haneul means sky in Korean and the elephant plushie is sky blue so ta-da) and the puppy's name, I'm not very creative (we have a couple of cats and they have Official Names but usually my family and I just call them Mama Meow and Baby Meow, I'm bad at names I'm so sorry)
> 
> Anyway this was a bit rushed and I'm not really confident about the way it's written but I still hope you enjoyed reading it! ♡
> 
> twt: whatsavotingacc


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